Integration Update: April 2025

April 22, 2025

On April 9, more than 420 members of New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) attended the second Integration Summit Meeting at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick — 200 of them in person, and more than 220 virtually.

The summit was jointly hosted by RWJMS Dean Amy P. Murtha, MD, and NJMS Dean Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP. Its purpose was to review the progress made in creating the future Rutgers School of Medicine (RSOM); present elements of the Strategic Planning Framework; and define the next integration tasks.

In her opening remarks, Dean Murtha addressed a key topic: the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education) accreditation timeline. "It's been 643 days since the Board of Governors authorized the creation of this new school," she said. "And we have about 643 days until our mid-site LCME visit. It's very exciting."

"We're halfway towards our goal," added Dean Johnson. "A tremendous amount of work has gone into this integration."

The summit began with an acknowledgement of the work performed by the eight task forces formed in March 2024 to implement the LCME self-study and help shape the Mission, Vision, and Values for RSOM. The task forces have completed their assignments, and a second round of task forces are in process to continue the integration work.

This past fall, as part of an Independent Student Analysis, both medical schools conducted a survey on 75 items. The results indicated that the students have a high rate of satisfaction with their education. “Student perspective is an important element of LCME accreditation,” noted Dean Johnson. Based on these results, a few areas are earmarked for improvement before the survey is repeated in the fall.
 
Summing up the LCME process, Dean Murtha said, "We think of this as a giant 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. We've moved all the puzzle pieces into buckets, based on LCME requirements. Now we’re working to fill in all the puzzle pieces."
 
The deans presented the new Mission, Vision, and Values, and the Strategic Pillars: Compassionate Care, Innovative Research, Transformative Education, Community Engagement, and Culture of Belonging. They outlined the process of establishing the Pillars with input from the medical community, and discussed strategies and potential outcomes for the Pillars.
 
Next on the agenda was an overview of the work by subcommittees: Governance, Academic Environment, Faculty, Curriculum, and Student. This effort is overseen by Integration Advisory Committee co-chairs Maria Soto-Greene, MD, NJMS executive vice dean, and Carol A. Terregino, MD, senior associate dean for education and academic affairs at RWJMS. The subcommittee co-chairs described the work to date and in progress, covering such areas as interviews and admissions; curriculum and grading; hiring and recruitment; leadership structure; clerkship restructuring; residency questions; facilities updates; and more.
 
The new by-laws, based on the foundational Strategic Pillars, were also presented and reviewed. In a recent faculty survey, 75 percent of respondents agreed that the Pillars reflected the vision of the new medical school. The by-laws will undergo further review by university leadership, including the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Chancellor’s office.

For the second half of the summit, the in-person attendees divided into breakout sessions for strategic planning and small group work. They were asked to numerically rank the proposed strategies for each Pillar, sharing their thoughts with QR codes and other communications. Lively discussions ensued in each of the breakout rooms.
 
Summing up the afternoon’s activities, Dean Murtha said, "Our thanks to everyone for their participation. We are well on our way towards our goal of being one of the largest medical schools in the country. It’s an honor and a privilege."

View the presentation slides and view photos from the event.